CHAPTER TOOLS

Keywords:

Homo erectus;

Homo floresiensis;

skeletal anatomy

Summary

Homo floresiensis is a newly recognized “human” species, with a mosaic of primitive-like and derived skeletal characteristics. Initially, the paleoanthropologists concluded that the species Homo floresiensis probably represented an endemic, insular dwarf of Homo erectus. The species was retained in the genus Homo, but it was later concluded that the “genealogy of H. floresiensis remains uncertain” and that it was not just “an allometrically scaled-down version of H. erectus.” These competing hypotheses of origination — insular dwarf of H. erectus versus small-bodied, pre- erectus hominin — remain the most viable scientific alternatives currently under active debate. This chapter focuses on the diagnostic skeletal anatomy of H. floresiensis: what does it reveal about phylogenetic and functional affinities, and how does it inform us with respect to these competing hypotheses. The discussion on the skeletal anatomy here includes body size and shape, cranium, mandibles, teeth, brain endocast, and postcranium.